Rallying call to save Royal British Legion clubs
- Today's leader
Fury as £10m plans shelved
Tuesday 25th August 2009, 3:17PM BST.
Protesters armed with banners and placards will march on the centre of Wellington this weekend after the plug was pulled on a project that would have brought £10.5 million funding to the town and new bypass.
Telford & Wrekin Council shelved the Telford Sports, Learning and Enterprise Community project this year, saying it was not sustainable.
The scheme would have seen a 1,500-seater arena and centre of excellence built behind Wrekin College, where it was hoped Britain’s netball stars for the 2012 Olympics would train. A relief road would also have been built.
It was to have serviced the college and The Old Hall School and to have taken traffic away from the town centre.
Protest organiser Emma Gledhill, of Leegomery Road, said it would take place on Saturday morning.
She said she was “flabbergasted” some town councillors refused to back a bid to ask Telford & Wrekin to reconsider its decision.
Mrs Gledhill said: “I think the square will be full on Saturday, because there is an awful lot of feeling about this in Wellington.
“For more than four years we have been complaining to the council about the volume of traffic. This relief road would have been the answer.
“It would have taken major traffic away from the town during term time.”
She added: “You are talking about £10.5 million worth of funding, the building of a sports village and national centre of excellence. It beggars belief these superb plans have been allowed to flounder.”
The council said it was committed to regenerating Wellington and improving borough sports facilities.
Councillor Miles Hosken, cabinet member for leisure and culture, said: “Although the original TSLEC proposals were found not to be sustainable, it has not been cancelled and is a continuing project that will in future focus on providing a range of leisure facilities across the borough, rather than focusing on a single location.
“As far as the broader regeneration of Wellington is concerned, we are committed to a comprehensive £8.5 million phase one regeneration project to transform the town centre and civic quarter along with the provision of a new bus station and car park as part of Telford & Wrekin Council’s Borough Towns Initiative.
“We are now completing traffic management proposals for the residential roads around Wrekin College and Old Hall School and residents will have the opportunity to comment on these this autumn.”
By Wayne Beese
Sponsored Links
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
Telford United Club have had many thousands of public money pumped into it, including £500k being spent on buying the pub by the council, its about time money was spent elsewhere.
Report abuse
No doubt the greenies will be cycling there for a counter protest against the road.
Report abuse
John clearly you misinformed, Many £1000′s i think you will find from the accounts that its the football club that has put monies into the council coffers, from Rent, Maintenance, Council Tax etc, and as for £500k for the pub, well the club neither own or run it it is infact empty, the club did have a short term lease for 6 months now expired.
Report abuse
Where was Telford United mentioned in this article John?
It is a Telford and Wrekin community project which the club has a small part involvement in.
The facilities mentioned in the article above don’t actually involve football but other parts of the project do.
Prehaps you would like to be more informed before writing your thoughts next time.
Oh and the £500,000 for a pub? I’ll leave others to make you look silly on that point.
Report abuse
I have lived in this town for 12 years and i read the local news and think that i am well informed of what is happening on my doorstep.
obviously not as the first time i have ever heard of this plan is last night when we are told that the plans are shelved. it makes me wonder whether the facilities would be for the community at all “don’t shout it from the roof tops or they will all want to use it”
Report abuse
£500,000 was to buy the stadium back from creditors was it not? the council has helped out the football club substantially, far far more than any other leisure facility….so to say its the other way around is laughable! end of the day, the football club is its own company and shouldn’t be getting any handouts from the council anyway. the learning centre facility could have been built anywhere, didnt have to be part of the football ground.
Report abuse
Vamperic, Donny and John: What a bunch of ill informed comments clearly showing that you know nothing about what has happended at AFC Telford, the success of what has gone on there so far, or the TSLEC proposals. It is the small minded, small town thinking displayed in your comments that will keep Telford in the Dark ages
Report abuse
Not that AFC Telford United has anything to do with this plan or article at all; it is time the new incarnation of the football club let go of the council’s apron strings and stood on it’s own two feet, they have had much more help than anyone could have expected from any Borough Council.
Report abuse
500000 to buy the stadium which is worth a lot more a prize asset the council now have a good piece of business in anyones book for which Telford pay a rent as well as mantenance.
I assume you have pulled your facts from the other side of the A5, Telford recieve no hand outs from the council and it was the council that planned the learning center as part of TCAT/Sports dome funded by sports England IE a grant.
Report abuse
Geoff its probably a bit late to say anything now but that is what i am complaining about i was ill informed on the TSLEC proposals. its a big deal, i want something like that for my town but no one seemed to shout it from the roof tops like the other redevelopements going on, and Telford in the dark ages, don’t make me laugh
Report abuse
Vampeirc: You insinuate that the project was being kept quiet to avoid community use and benefit – that in itself is pretty small minded. Vist the square on Saturday and find out what really was proposed and what Telford has really lost out on -
Report abuse
you got it. the context of small minded really does not fit in this instance. i’m not saying it can’t be done or it shouldn’t be done because things are not meant to change or move on, that is small minded, i’m being cynical. normally there is a huge fanfare for this type of thing. i know we have lost out and i think if there was more coverage we woudn’t have to all gather to protest about this.
Report abuse
this is the tory policy of cutting back in the middle of a recession we need to spend more , especially a road, this would be great for wellington to get traffic out and bring business in
the council should hang there head in shame for abandoning this plan, typical tories doing nothing in a recession
i would extend queensway around the rest of wellington to link it back to the motorway in a big loop around telford, bring wellington into telford proper and create more jobs to regenerate this town
Report abuse